Alaska

[maineiac]

What can I say? I have an Alaskan fetish!


Knik Arm bridge project recommended by Assembly

KTUU - Anchorage,AK,USA

"We need to go on with this project so that Alaska can become -- so that Anchorage can become the big beautiful city that it already is, and still wants to ...

See all stories on this topi


I'd be all for it, if it was privately funded!

[powerchuter]

Ahhhh....
The Bridge to Nowhere...

I agree that it should be privately funded...

Other than that...I could care less...

[maineiac]

As long as you could care less, I'll point out that the megamillion$ "Bridge to Nowhere" is proposed to connect the town of Ketchikan with a nearby island, home to about 15 people, I believe.

The bridge in the topic post is proposed to be built in the Anchorage area.

Do any Alaskans post here?

[Nicholas Gilman]

As long as you could care less, I'll point out that the megamillion$ "Bridge to Nowhere" is proposed to connect the town of Ketchikan with a nearby island, home to about 15 people, I believe.

       Maybe its just me, but why would 15 people live on an island, and then want a bridge built to the location?
Wouldnt it be cheaper for the 15 people to move if they really wanted convienient access?

[SpeedPhreak]

For me the whole point of living on an island would be less convient access

[Nicholas Gilman]

   The banner ads for the page was just displaying an ad for dating women in Alaska...I'll
try my luck with the lottery...better odds that way.

[Fluff and Stuff]

Wouldnt it be cheaper for the 15 people to move if they really wanted convienient access?

It is not about the people on the island.  It is about the people off the island, they want easier access to the island.

[LiveFree]

Maybe they could start a fund, or sell cookies.  I hear the Girl Scouts kick ass with their cookie sales, but then, I've also heard the secret ingredient in the thin mints is crack...

[Pat McCotter]

The Gravina Island Bridge is a proposed $315 million bridge to replace the ferry that currently connects Ketchikan, Alaska (population 8,000) to developable land on Gravina Island and improve access to Ketchikan International Airport. The bridge would replace or augment a 7-minute ferry ride from Ketchikan to its airport.

The project has been met with fierce opposition and has been labeled the "Bridge to Nowhere." It has been cited by Senator John McCain of Arizona as an example of pork-barrel spending in the 2005 Transportation Equity Act. This $223 million federal contribution to the bridge would cost approximately $15,849 per person in the Ketchikan Gateway Borough (pop. 14,070) if the costs were split amongst them. Opponents have noted that the federal contribution represents $4.5 million for each of Gravina Island's 50 residents.

Media coverage of the bridge issue has focused on the secondary purpose put forward by the State of Alaska's official documentation, that of providing road access to the Ketchikan International Airport and has called into question the document's declared primary purpose -- to provide access to developable lands on Gravina Island. The city of Ketchikan has already begun to develop roads and a small amount of infrastructure for the island's inhabitants.

The non-partisan Americans for Prosperity Foundation has posted a video on YouTube.com that was recorded during an August 2006 "Ending Earmarks Express" visit to Alaska. The video was shot on the ferry that currently connects Ketchikan to Gravina Island and aims to illustrate how unnecessary the proposed bridge is. The Alaska Department of Transportation defends the project, however, saying that the state's congressional delegation believes Alaska's infrastructure improvements benefit the entire nation.

Alaska Senator Ted Stevens became the object of strong media criticism when in October 2005 he opposed diverting the Gravina and Knik Arm Bridge funds to help aid recovery from Hurricane Katrina. In his speech on the senate floor, Stevens threatened to quit Congress if the funds were removed from his state.

Republicans in Congress dropped the specific allocation for the two bridges, but the amount of money appropriated to Alaska remains unchanged. Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski announced plans to fully fund both bridges: "I am proposing we spend the maximum allowed."

A ferry runs to the island every 30 minutes. According to USA Today the bridge will be nearly as long as the Golden Gate Bridge and higher than the Brooklyn Bridge. Ketchikan's primary industry is tourism, so the bridge must be tall enough to accommodate the cruise ships which frequent the Alaskan waters during the summer.

[Pat McCotter]

Oops! Sorry about that! It was only ONE of the Bridges to Nowhere!

The Knik Arm Bridge, also known as one of Alaska's infamous "Bridges to Nowhere", is the name of a proposed bridge to cross the Knik Arm portion of Cook Inlet, north of Anchorage, Alaska. Cost estimates for the bridge vary wildly, usually depending on opinion, but it is believed that it could run as high as $1.5 billion. Opponents suggest that a proposed Knik Arm ferry is a more cost-effective solution.

The idea of a bridge or causeway across Knik Arm was first envisioned sometime between 1955 and 1957 by a group of Anchorage businessmen. At that time, the cost estimate was only $25 million. Over the decades, the idea has been studied countless times over, even including at one point the concept of a Turnagain Arm bridge, on the opposite side of Anchorage. The current round of studies has been conducted under the jurisdiction of the Knik Arm Bridge And Toll Authority, created by the Alaska Legislature in 2003 to develop a method of construction financing and of operation and maintenance of the bridge once constructed.

The bridge, which opponents have labeled a "pork-barrel project," was tied to the Gravina Island Bridge in funding legislation, would cost approximately $1,500 per person served, would be two miles long, and would allow the population of Anchorage to expand into the Point MacKenzie area. The residents of the Matanuska/Susitna Valley currently have only a single road to get to and from Anchorage and points south. The Parks Highway which runs through Willow, Houston and Wasilla, has to veer east and join the Glenn Highway, which continues along a strip of land between Chugach State Park and the military bases north of Anchorage. No other routes are available for anyone driving to or from the Valley and Anchorage. The proposed bridge would allow access in a more direct northward route from Anchorage to Houston and Willow and would provide a secondary north/south roadway in case of emergency.

In October, 2005 Alaska Senator Ted Stevens vehemently opposed diverting the Gravina and Knik Arm Bridge funds to help aid recovery from Hurricane Katrina. In his speech on the senate floor, Stevens threatened to quit Congress if the funds were removed from his state. Republicans in Congress dropped the specific allocation for the two bridges, but the amount of money appropriated to Alaska remains unchanged. Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski plans to fully fund both bridges: "I am proposing we spend the maximum allowed."

As of mid-2006, however, there were additional developments. Rep. Mark Steven Kirk (R-IL) proposed an amendment disallowing federal funds from being allocated to the bridge project. The amendment passed the House in short order, but was held up in the Senate. According to the Alaska DOT, Alaska is one of only two states in the nation to not have a state-funded transportation improvement capital program. Meanwhile, Gov. Murkowski signed into law a capital budget which contained startup amounts for both the Knik Arm Bridge and the Gravina Island Bridge.

The bridge authority came under fire in September 2006 when it was revealed that its lead staff had received 20% to 30% raises at a secret board meeting in August to a typical salary of $130,000 per year.

Several possible routes have been identified and are currently under study. All of the routes encroach upon either United States Air Force or United States Army land, and security is among the foremost concerns. Interconnecting with existing Anchorage freeways and other arteries presents an additional challenge, as various neighborhoods, commercial areas, and industrial areas lie between the military land and the existing transportation infrastructure.

[powerchuter]

Let them fund and build their own damn bridges...

Something else to piss me off...

[Lloyd Danforth]

At the end of his book 'Alaska'  James Michener concluded that Alaska was likely to end up belonging to Russia again. I don't know why he said that.

[LiveFree]

Somehow I highly doubt they'd ever come back under the Russians.  Their own country, probably, but not under Russia.

Check out the Alaska Independence Party.  http://www.akip.org/

[AlanM]

At the end of his book 'Alaska'  James Michener concluded that Alaska was likely to end up belonging to Russia again. I don't know why he said that.

[CNHT]

At the end of his book 'Alaska'  James Michener concluded that Alaska was likely to end up belonging to Russia again. I don't know why he said that.

Um because he's a red?